How good is Grimes?
I haven't been shy in my praise for five-star class of 2017 wide receiver Trevon Grimes, calling him the best wide receiver in the country, regardless of class. Grimes' measurables, the size/speed/quickness are elite, he is a polished route runner with tremendous hands and body control, and he checks off all of the boxes when it comes to the intangibles like his work ethic and leadership.
While I would fully believe that statement regardless of Grimes' interest level in Ohio State, I spoke to a few Florida area sources at the Rivals Challenge this weekend who echoed those sentiments.
"He's definitely the best wide receiver in Florida right now in any class," the first source said. "He's the type of athlete that you think had to be created in a test tube."
Source number two was equally adamant that Grimes is a special talent.
"I have been watching St. Thomas Aquinas for years and I don't think they've had a guy quite like him at that position," the source said. "Even when they had Rashad Greene, he couldn't stretch the field like Trevon does. He is really dynamic. I love the way he comes out of his breaks, it is so rare to see that at his size."
I thought Grimes was fantastic during 1-on-1's. Showing the speed and quickness to separate but he really showed a lot strength wise. He's "only" 195-pounds right now. This is a kid who will end up playing around 225-pounds so there is a solid 30-pounds worth of growth that will take place over the next few years. Still, despite being pretty thin at this stage, guys were latching onto his jersey to try and stay with him and he was still able to use his size and strength to shield them off and make catches. He's going to be a force in the red zone at the next level.
In the 7-on-7 his team had some issues getting the ball to the outside to both him and Donnie Corley. It was a lot of underneath stuff to the slot guys, check downs to the backs, and hitting Isaac Nauta over the middle (he had a monster day). Grimes (and Corley for that matter) were getting open but often times the ball was coming out so quickly to the underneath guys that it didn't really matter.
When they finally started taking some shots down the field, Grimes made their opponent pay with an excellent touchdown catch where he was able to haul in the deep ball over a defensive back and get his feet down in the back of the end zone.
Coming out of the weekend, nothing happened that would change my opinion of Grimes as the best WR prospect I have seen in any of the last three classes.
On the recruiting front, the Buckeyes still have a big lead. Some out there are talking about Miami, the Canes aren't the Florida team I'd concern myself with. Florida State is the one that I think has his attention the most at this point. It's going to take a big push by any school to overtake Ohio State here, however, but there's always at least one other contender in a recruitment and in this one, it's FSU.
Predicting the future at WR
Things are beginning to clear up when it comes to OSU wide receiver recruiting in the 2016 class. As expected, on Sunday the Buckeyes landed the guy we have been referring to as WR1 in this class, Rivals250 product Austin Mack.
Now that WR1 is in the fold, the pressure is really off the Ohio State staff and they can, and will, be selective when it comes to WR2 (and potentially WR3). Donnie Corley is absolutely the guy that OSU would prefer to be WR2 but Michigan State has a lot of the momentum there right now and unless Corley makes another Ohio State visit before his decision (he is expected to decide in July), the Buckeyes could be in trouble here.
Still, they are going to continue to chase Corley and probably aren't particularly interested in adding another WR in this class (not including NCM) until Corley is 100-percent off the board. While some here may have thrown in the towel on Donnie Football, Ohio State is going to continue to work and try and turn the momentum around here.
Which brings us to Ahmir Mitchell. As we reported several weeks ago, Mitchell's inner circle was really starting to advise him to pump the brakes on his recruitment and he has listened. What was looking like a potential summer decision now looks like a recruitment that will just about go the distance.
Mitchell plans to take official visits to his top schools, which right now are Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State.
I personally think this is great news for the Buckeyes. Mitchell is a guy that I'm told the coaching staff really likes but at the same time, Corley is the top guy right now (again taking NCM out of this for a minute) and there is probably not room for both. At least, there is certainly not room for both in July with six months left in the cycle and NCM still in play.
So if Corley goes to Michigan State, and right now I anticipate that he will, I think Mitchell is that next guy they'll target and would take at that point. So the timetables that both Corley and Mitchell currently have setup are great for OSU to get a feel on where things are at first with Corley before having to truly make a decision on Mitchell.
If I had to handicap the Mitchell recruitment, I'd give Michigan a slight edge right now over Ohio State with Notre Dame a clear third. Michigan is likely going to get several New Jersey guys in this class so that is going to help them with Mitchell. Michigan also doesn't have as many moving parts at WR, they aren't really in the Corley sweepstakes, they don't have a guy like NCM they are chasing either so there really isn't another guy out there that Michigan could take that would fill them up and not leave a spot for Mitchell.
I expect quite a battle here over the next six months, don't think this one will stay stagnant, could definitely see these top schools leapfrogging each other the rest of the way.
There is also Florida star Binjimen Victor who announces on June 22nd. I'd be stunned if he doesn't go with Florida. I've had him pegged to the Gators for a while now and talking to him a lot recently and seeing the group of finalists, I don't think there is much suspense here.
Where Victor could potentially come back into play is this winter, if things go the wrong way with Corley and are still very much up in the air with NCM and Mitchell. Victor says he is taking official visits and says that it's very likely Ohio State will be one of them so if UF struggles this year under McElwain there could be a window of opportunity to get back in the mix there later in the process.
Finally we get to NCM. Not much has changed since our last update. He's still working on setting up an Ohio State visit and the schools that keep coming out of his mouth the most are OSU, USC, FSU, and Auburn with Florida trying to make a charge as well.
I got a lot of varying opinions on UF, ranging from serious darkhorse to not much of a factor so it's hard to decipher the truth on that one. I will say that NCM a couple of days before the Rivals Challenge had an opportunity to visit UF with his brother and simply just didn't go, so to me that is the most telling evidence there.
This is going to be an absolute slug fest but I still feel Ohio State has a real chance here and will be right in the thick of this race the entire way. A summer visit really needs to happen though to setup an official in the fall/winter.
After talking to all of these receivers in Baltimore and several other sources that are either covering these recruitments or directly involved in these recruitments, my opinion on how this will play out is that Ohio State will miss on Corley and then will make a run at a few other WR2 options (Mitchell, Victor, Kyle Davis, and a couple of others) taking the first one they can get and then shutting it down on the rest of the group.
From there, they'll chase NCM and Sam Bruce, those will be the icing on the cake guys that won't really be factored in to the positional quota. They'll have a spot until NSD.
It's a trap
There were a couple of guys running around the Rivals Challenge this weekend talking about Ohio State that I don't think people should be putting much stock into at this point. One is Savannah (Ga.) wide receiver Demetris Robertson. Robertson, who decommitted from Alabama but is still considering the Crimson Tide, lists Ohio State along with schools such as Stanford, USC, Florida State, Georgia, and Notre Dame among his contenders.
Demetris is a great kid but he has been all over the place during the course of his recruitment and after checking in with sources close to Ohio State as well as some folks close to UGA, the sentiment is that the Buckeyes aren't going to be much of a factor moving forward and it would almost be a surprise if they were able to get him up for a visit. Georgia appears to be the team with the most momentum right now and I think Stanford is very much a darkhorse as well. Robertson has a twin sister that is a big track athlete and they are trying to go to the same school and UGA has been the most aggressive in recruiting them both.
I don't think Demetris intentionally hypes up schools that probably don't have much of a chance with him. I think he has always genuinely liked Ohio State and the coaching staff there but he is a kid that changes his mind on almost a weekly basis and I just don't get the vibe from talking to several people on different sides of this recruitment that the Buckeyes will get back in real contention here.
The second player, and I think this one is a bit different than Robertson, is five-star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Like Robertson, I have had multiple people tell me that Ohio State is very unlikely to be a match here. Unlike Robertson, I think Lawrence is manufacturing some interest that perhaps doesn't really exist.
It is very unlikely that Lawrence will make an unofficial visit to Ohio State this summer and while he says they are a contender for an official visit later on, I am doubtful such a visit ever takes place. In fact I've been told that there really hasn't been too much communication between Lawrence and Ohio State in recent months. He's not only a kid that doesn't do interviews but much like Terry Beckner last cycle, he's really tough for the college coaches to communicate with.
Lawrence was an important participant at the Rivals Challenge this weekend because he really doesn't do many interviews so now we've been able to take the pulse there, talk to Dexter, and then cross check what he has told us with some other sources and my take away is that this won't be happening and probably shouldn't be a kid that OSU fans even worry about moving forward.
Ultimately I think the Buckeyes are just window dressing on his list and that despite all of the big name programs involved with him that N.C. State might be in the best spot right now. Don't see him going far from home at all.
Will Davis be next?
Four-star defensive back Wayne Davis was not able to make a visit to Ohio State over the weekend. Typically his transportation is with coaches from Lake Taylor who are making a visit to OSU both to get Wayne there and to see Jayln Holmes but with Holmes back in Norfolk right now, everyone stayed put over the weekend.
Still, I am told that Davis will get back up to Ohio State this summer at some point and that when he does that it is very possible that he commits to the Buckeyes. Now there are some moving parts in the mean time, like Jared Mayden's upcoming decision in early July, so it will be interesting to see how the staff manages all of that.
There is no doubt that if Davis would try to commit today that it would be accepted and I think that is who OSU would prefer to land in all of this so if he is able to make it up to Columbus in the next few weeks, that could certainly impact the status of Mayden.
If Davis commits soon, and I think that is likely, you could see Ohio State back off some other defensive back targets (specifically corners) that they are currently recruiting with the exception of Damar Hamlin who could ultimately be bumped over to safety but for now is being told that he can start off at either spot and they'll go from there.
Or will it be Greene?
Four-star class of 2017 Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy wide receiver Emmanuel Greene tells me that he'll be at Ohio State on June 24th for a visit. We've basically had Greene on commitment watch since March, saying that the next time he set foot on campus that could be the clincher for the Buckeyes.
After talking with E-Man today I still think that's a strong possibility. He's looking at visits to Miami (Fla.) and Clemson as well and it will be interesting to see if he goes on those trips before or after his OSU visit. He has been hoping to make OSU his last visit of that trio and I think if you read between the lines you'll see why that is.
If Davis doesn't get to campus in the next couple of weeks, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Greene become OSU's next commit and yet another big boost to the Buckeyes' 2017 class from the Sunshine State.
Year of the Defensive Back
There is so much talk about wide receiver recruiting in the 2017 class and how some tough decisions are ahead for the Ohio State staff. I am personally just as intrigued by the defensive back situation. The Buckeyes already have two outstanding commitments in Marcus Williamson and Shaun Wade but they are right in the hunt for several more big-time out-of-state prospects.
Clairton (Pa.) product Lamont Wade is probably the top remaining cornerback prospect on the board in 2017 and he is certainly big-time. The Rivals Camp stop in Cleveland was my first look at Wade, followed by The Opening regionals in Columbus. Wade was very good at both of those stops, clearly a four-star guy and Rivals100 guy, but he was flat out special this weekend in Baltimore.
Wade's quickness and ability to break on the football makes him a very unique talent, especially when you combine that with his compete level. Cornerbacks have to be junkyard dogs with short memories. Outside of quarterback, it is probably the position that requires the most mental toughness because of the tough positions they are put in, the caliber of athletes they are asked to cover at the wide receiver position, and the rules these days that pretty much unanimously favor the offense. Wade takes every rep like it's his own Super Bowl and competes at such a high level, he is a coaches dream in that regard.
This is now a prospect that I feel will be in serious five-star contention, he reminds me a lot of Levonta Taylor who I think is the nation's top corner in 2016.
Recruiting wise, I like where Ohio State sits right now. Penn State is running second in my opinion and while I think you'll see Pitt listed throughout this recruitment, I get the sense that winning is very important to Lamont and I've heard some talk of concern in that regard with Pitt. I think there is optimism in the Wade camp that Narduzzi will ultimately have success there but that OSU provides a better situation earlier in his college career.
Getting him back on campus for Friday Night Lights will be big and seeing how things shake out this fall on the field, particularly with the PA schools who are still selling a lot of optimism moreso than on-field results, will also be a key. If those schools can make some progress this fall that could make things a bit more interesting, but right now I believe OSU to be in the driver's seat.
Wade certainly wasn't the only tremendous 2017 DB in Baltimore this weekend. We watched Texas safety Jeffery Okudah as well as the Georgia trio of Richard LeCounte, Isaiah Pryor, and Deangelo Gibbs. All three of these guys top 100 types in my opinion and while Gibbs is already a five-star it wouldn't totally shock me to see at least one of these other guys make a run at five-star status by next winter.
Okudah was phenomenal in drills on Saturday and solid in 1-on-1's, especially for a safety. He was also very active early in the 7-on-7 before getting dinged up a bit. Ohio State is a real player there and getting him on campus this summer will be an important step in the right direction.
Pryor also remains highly interested in the Buckeyes (more on him tomorrow) and Georgia and Notre Dame look to be the main competitors right now. His trips to the Midwest and his brother being at Iowa are good indicators that he's at least open to the idea of heading out of the region if its the best fit and he's a big-time academic kid and likes that part of the puzzle on OSU's end as well.
I'm growing more optimistic with OSU and LeCounte. Richard will visit in July and then multiple times during the season (more on him tomorrow as well) and the relationship he has with the coaches combined with how hard they have recruited him and the success and development of Raekwon McMillan are all things OSU has working in their favor right now.
Gibbs to me is the biggest long shot of the group. Just feels like a kid that will stay in the Southeast but the Buckeyes at least have his attention right now and that's the type of kid you swing for the fences on and keep recruiting until he tells you to stop.
Between all of the above guys, the in-state guys like Russ Yeast, Tyrell Ajian, and others, and the rest of the national contingent that wasn't in Baltimore, I think DB recruiting in 2017 is going to be a pretty wild ride.
More Notes
- We've talked a lot recently about the Buckeyes possibly adding a fourth offensive lineman in this class if it's an elite tackle (much like Isaiah Prince pushing things to six last cycle). Landon Young could definitely fit that bill. The Buckeyes have really turned up the heat there lately and DE commit Jonathon Cooper was definitely in his ear over the weekend.
Young has been committed to Kentucky for two years now and plays just in the shadow of the UK campus so there is definitely a strong loyalty there. That said, he is definitely listening to the OSU staff right now, though I've spoken to a few people close to that situation that feel the Buckeyes have some catching up to do.
There is still a lot of time left for OSU to try and make up ground here and I suspect you'll see his name popping up a lot over the next few months and wouldn't be surprised at all if OSU gets an official visit out of him.
- No reason for me to believe anything has changed with five-star DT Rashan Gary. Like Young, Gary was being worked by Cooper over the weekend and the two have built a good friendship but I continue to feel Ohio State is much closer to sixth or seventh in this race than they are to the top of the list. Clemson has some family close by, Michigan has the former high school coach and likely several of his New Jersey guys in the class, and Alabama seems to have him intrigued. He's also going to embark on a major SEC tour soon and that could bring some new contenders into the race as well.
There's no reason for OSU to stop recruiting Gary, however. There is no true short list at this point and Rashan is good enough that you take your swings and see what happens. But if the Buckeyes don't get Rashan and his mother on campus this summer, I don't see how they pull this one off. Just not sure you can just bring them out for the official visit and pull this off, they'll need a little more than that to win this one.
- The 'other' big DT target right now is of course Antwuan Jackson who will visit next week for an overnight stay. Auburn and Georgia are the major contenders right now and we've speculated in the past that UGA's loaded DT depth chart could ultimately push Jackson away.
Right now that seems to be good news for Auburn where he had a great visit recently. The Tigers have a more appealing depth chart than UGA and are just as close to home as UGA so they have a lot working for them.
Still, Larry Johnson has done a great job there the last few months in building relationships and for OSU to be in the top 3-4 schools without a visit to this point is a good sign. Next week's visit will be enormous, it's as big as it gets for an unofficial visit. It will dictate whether they get another unofficial visit this summer and whether they get an official in the fall. I think we'll be able to be much more accurate in our assessment of that recruitment after this visit and will have a much better idea if this one is a major long shot or a legitimate possibility.
I haven't been shy in my praise for five-star class of 2017 wide receiver Trevon Grimes, calling him the best wide receiver in the country, regardless of class. Grimes' measurables, the size/speed/quickness are elite, he is a polished route runner with tremendous hands and body control, and he checks off all of the boxes when it comes to the intangibles like his work ethic and leadership.
While I would fully believe that statement regardless of Grimes' interest level in Ohio State, I spoke to a few Florida area sources at the Rivals Challenge this weekend who echoed those sentiments.
"He's definitely the best wide receiver in Florida right now in any class," the first source said. "He's the type of athlete that you think had to be created in a test tube."
Source number two was equally adamant that Grimes is a special talent.
"I have been watching St. Thomas Aquinas for years and I don't think they've had a guy quite like him at that position," the source said. "Even when they had Rashad Greene, he couldn't stretch the field like Trevon does. He is really dynamic. I love the way he comes out of his breaks, it is so rare to see that at his size."
I thought Grimes was fantastic during 1-on-1's. Showing the speed and quickness to separate but he really showed a lot strength wise. He's "only" 195-pounds right now. This is a kid who will end up playing around 225-pounds so there is a solid 30-pounds worth of growth that will take place over the next few years. Still, despite being pretty thin at this stage, guys were latching onto his jersey to try and stay with him and he was still able to use his size and strength to shield them off and make catches. He's going to be a force in the red zone at the next level.
In the 7-on-7 his team had some issues getting the ball to the outside to both him and Donnie Corley. It was a lot of underneath stuff to the slot guys, check downs to the backs, and hitting Isaac Nauta over the middle (he had a monster day). Grimes (and Corley for that matter) were getting open but often times the ball was coming out so quickly to the underneath guys that it didn't really matter.
When they finally started taking some shots down the field, Grimes made their opponent pay with an excellent touchdown catch where he was able to haul in the deep ball over a defensive back and get his feet down in the back of the end zone.
Coming out of the weekend, nothing happened that would change my opinion of Grimes as the best WR prospect I have seen in any of the last three classes.
On the recruiting front, the Buckeyes still have a big lead. Some out there are talking about Miami, the Canes aren't the Florida team I'd concern myself with. Florida State is the one that I think has his attention the most at this point. It's going to take a big push by any school to overtake Ohio State here, however, but there's always at least one other contender in a recruitment and in this one, it's FSU.
Predicting the future at WR
Things are beginning to clear up when it comes to OSU wide receiver recruiting in the 2016 class. As expected, on Sunday the Buckeyes landed the guy we have been referring to as WR1 in this class, Rivals250 product Austin Mack.
Now that WR1 is in the fold, the pressure is really off the Ohio State staff and they can, and will, be selective when it comes to WR2 (and potentially WR3). Donnie Corley is absolutely the guy that OSU would prefer to be WR2 but Michigan State has a lot of the momentum there right now and unless Corley makes another Ohio State visit before his decision (he is expected to decide in July), the Buckeyes could be in trouble here.
Still, they are going to continue to chase Corley and probably aren't particularly interested in adding another WR in this class (not including NCM) until Corley is 100-percent off the board. While some here may have thrown in the towel on Donnie Football, Ohio State is going to continue to work and try and turn the momentum around here.
Which brings us to Ahmir Mitchell. As we reported several weeks ago, Mitchell's inner circle was really starting to advise him to pump the brakes on his recruitment and he has listened. What was looking like a potential summer decision now looks like a recruitment that will just about go the distance.
Mitchell plans to take official visits to his top schools, which right now are Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State.
I personally think this is great news for the Buckeyes. Mitchell is a guy that I'm told the coaching staff really likes but at the same time, Corley is the top guy right now (again taking NCM out of this for a minute) and there is probably not room for both. At least, there is certainly not room for both in July with six months left in the cycle and NCM still in play.
So if Corley goes to Michigan State, and right now I anticipate that he will, I think Mitchell is that next guy they'll target and would take at that point. So the timetables that both Corley and Mitchell currently have setup are great for OSU to get a feel on where things are at first with Corley before having to truly make a decision on Mitchell.
If I had to handicap the Mitchell recruitment, I'd give Michigan a slight edge right now over Ohio State with Notre Dame a clear third. Michigan is likely going to get several New Jersey guys in this class so that is going to help them with Mitchell. Michigan also doesn't have as many moving parts at WR, they aren't really in the Corley sweepstakes, they don't have a guy like NCM they are chasing either so there really isn't another guy out there that Michigan could take that would fill them up and not leave a spot for Mitchell.
I expect quite a battle here over the next six months, don't think this one will stay stagnant, could definitely see these top schools leapfrogging each other the rest of the way.
There is also Florida star Binjimen Victor who announces on June 22nd. I'd be stunned if he doesn't go with Florida. I've had him pegged to the Gators for a while now and talking to him a lot recently and seeing the group of finalists, I don't think there is much suspense here.
Where Victor could potentially come back into play is this winter, if things go the wrong way with Corley and are still very much up in the air with NCM and Mitchell. Victor says he is taking official visits and says that it's very likely Ohio State will be one of them so if UF struggles this year under McElwain there could be a window of opportunity to get back in the mix there later in the process.
Finally we get to NCM. Not much has changed since our last update. He's still working on setting up an Ohio State visit and the schools that keep coming out of his mouth the most are OSU, USC, FSU, and Auburn with Florida trying to make a charge as well.
I got a lot of varying opinions on UF, ranging from serious darkhorse to not much of a factor so it's hard to decipher the truth on that one. I will say that NCM a couple of days before the Rivals Challenge had an opportunity to visit UF with his brother and simply just didn't go, so to me that is the most telling evidence there.
This is going to be an absolute slug fest but I still feel Ohio State has a real chance here and will be right in the thick of this race the entire way. A summer visit really needs to happen though to setup an official in the fall/winter.
After talking to all of these receivers in Baltimore and several other sources that are either covering these recruitments or directly involved in these recruitments, my opinion on how this will play out is that Ohio State will miss on Corley and then will make a run at a few other WR2 options (Mitchell, Victor, Kyle Davis, and a couple of others) taking the first one they can get and then shutting it down on the rest of the group.
From there, they'll chase NCM and Sam Bruce, those will be the icing on the cake guys that won't really be factored in to the positional quota. They'll have a spot until NSD.
It's a trap
There were a couple of guys running around the Rivals Challenge this weekend talking about Ohio State that I don't think people should be putting much stock into at this point. One is Savannah (Ga.) wide receiver Demetris Robertson. Robertson, who decommitted from Alabama but is still considering the Crimson Tide, lists Ohio State along with schools such as Stanford, USC, Florida State, Georgia, and Notre Dame among his contenders.
Demetris is a great kid but he has been all over the place during the course of his recruitment and after checking in with sources close to Ohio State as well as some folks close to UGA, the sentiment is that the Buckeyes aren't going to be much of a factor moving forward and it would almost be a surprise if they were able to get him up for a visit. Georgia appears to be the team with the most momentum right now and I think Stanford is very much a darkhorse as well. Robertson has a twin sister that is a big track athlete and they are trying to go to the same school and UGA has been the most aggressive in recruiting them both.
I don't think Demetris intentionally hypes up schools that probably don't have much of a chance with him. I think he has always genuinely liked Ohio State and the coaching staff there but he is a kid that changes his mind on almost a weekly basis and I just don't get the vibe from talking to several people on different sides of this recruitment that the Buckeyes will get back in real contention here.
The second player, and I think this one is a bit different than Robertson, is five-star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Like Robertson, I have had multiple people tell me that Ohio State is very unlikely to be a match here. Unlike Robertson, I think Lawrence is manufacturing some interest that perhaps doesn't really exist.
It is very unlikely that Lawrence will make an unofficial visit to Ohio State this summer and while he says they are a contender for an official visit later on, I am doubtful such a visit ever takes place. In fact I've been told that there really hasn't been too much communication between Lawrence and Ohio State in recent months. He's not only a kid that doesn't do interviews but much like Terry Beckner last cycle, he's really tough for the college coaches to communicate with.
Lawrence was an important participant at the Rivals Challenge this weekend because he really doesn't do many interviews so now we've been able to take the pulse there, talk to Dexter, and then cross check what he has told us with some other sources and my take away is that this won't be happening and probably shouldn't be a kid that OSU fans even worry about moving forward.
Ultimately I think the Buckeyes are just window dressing on his list and that despite all of the big name programs involved with him that N.C. State might be in the best spot right now. Don't see him going far from home at all.
Will Davis be next?
Four-star defensive back Wayne Davis was not able to make a visit to Ohio State over the weekend. Typically his transportation is with coaches from Lake Taylor who are making a visit to OSU both to get Wayne there and to see Jayln Holmes but with Holmes back in Norfolk right now, everyone stayed put over the weekend.
Still, I am told that Davis will get back up to Ohio State this summer at some point and that when he does that it is very possible that he commits to the Buckeyes. Now there are some moving parts in the mean time, like Jared Mayden's upcoming decision in early July, so it will be interesting to see how the staff manages all of that.
There is no doubt that if Davis would try to commit today that it would be accepted and I think that is who OSU would prefer to land in all of this so if he is able to make it up to Columbus in the next few weeks, that could certainly impact the status of Mayden.
If Davis commits soon, and I think that is likely, you could see Ohio State back off some other defensive back targets (specifically corners) that they are currently recruiting with the exception of Damar Hamlin who could ultimately be bumped over to safety but for now is being told that he can start off at either spot and they'll go from there.
Or will it be Greene?
Four-star class of 2017 Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy wide receiver Emmanuel Greene tells me that he'll be at Ohio State on June 24th for a visit. We've basically had Greene on commitment watch since March, saying that the next time he set foot on campus that could be the clincher for the Buckeyes.
After talking with E-Man today I still think that's a strong possibility. He's looking at visits to Miami (Fla.) and Clemson as well and it will be interesting to see if he goes on those trips before or after his OSU visit. He has been hoping to make OSU his last visit of that trio and I think if you read between the lines you'll see why that is.
If Davis doesn't get to campus in the next couple of weeks, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Greene become OSU's next commit and yet another big boost to the Buckeyes' 2017 class from the Sunshine State.
Year of the Defensive Back
There is so much talk about wide receiver recruiting in the 2017 class and how some tough decisions are ahead for the Ohio State staff. I am personally just as intrigued by the defensive back situation. The Buckeyes already have two outstanding commitments in Marcus Williamson and Shaun Wade but they are right in the hunt for several more big-time out-of-state prospects.
Clairton (Pa.) product Lamont Wade is probably the top remaining cornerback prospect on the board in 2017 and he is certainly big-time. The Rivals Camp stop in Cleveland was my first look at Wade, followed by The Opening regionals in Columbus. Wade was very good at both of those stops, clearly a four-star guy and Rivals100 guy, but he was flat out special this weekend in Baltimore.
Wade's quickness and ability to break on the football makes him a very unique talent, especially when you combine that with his compete level. Cornerbacks have to be junkyard dogs with short memories. Outside of quarterback, it is probably the position that requires the most mental toughness because of the tough positions they are put in, the caliber of athletes they are asked to cover at the wide receiver position, and the rules these days that pretty much unanimously favor the offense. Wade takes every rep like it's his own Super Bowl and competes at such a high level, he is a coaches dream in that regard.
This is now a prospect that I feel will be in serious five-star contention, he reminds me a lot of Levonta Taylor who I think is the nation's top corner in 2016.
Recruiting wise, I like where Ohio State sits right now. Penn State is running second in my opinion and while I think you'll see Pitt listed throughout this recruitment, I get the sense that winning is very important to Lamont and I've heard some talk of concern in that regard with Pitt. I think there is optimism in the Wade camp that Narduzzi will ultimately have success there but that OSU provides a better situation earlier in his college career.
Getting him back on campus for Friday Night Lights will be big and seeing how things shake out this fall on the field, particularly with the PA schools who are still selling a lot of optimism moreso than on-field results, will also be a key. If those schools can make some progress this fall that could make things a bit more interesting, but right now I believe OSU to be in the driver's seat.
Wade certainly wasn't the only tremendous 2017 DB in Baltimore this weekend. We watched Texas safety Jeffery Okudah as well as the Georgia trio of Richard LeCounte, Isaiah Pryor, and Deangelo Gibbs. All three of these guys top 100 types in my opinion and while Gibbs is already a five-star it wouldn't totally shock me to see at least one of these other guys make a run at five-star status by next winter.
Okudah was phenomenal in drills on Saturday and solid in 1-on-1's, especially for a safety. He was also very active early in the 7-on-7 before getting dinged up a bit. Ohio State is a real player there and getting him on campus this summer will be an important step in the right direction.
Pryor also remains highly interested in the Buckeyes (more on him tomorrow) and Georgia and Notre Dame look to be the main competitors right now. His trips to the Midwest and his brother being at Iowa are good indicators that he's at least open to the idea of heading out of the region if its the best fit and he's a big-time academic kid and likes that part of the puzzle on OSU's end as well.
I'm growing more optimistic with OSU and LeCounte. Richard will visit in July and then multiple times during the season (more on him tomorrow as well) and the relationship he has with the coaches combined with how hard they have recruited him and the success and development of Raekwon McMillan are all things OSU has working in their favor right now.
Gibbs to me is the biggest long shot of the group. Just feels like a kid that will stay in the Southeast but the Buckeyes at least have his attention right now and that's the type of kid you swing for the fences on and keep recruiting until he tells you to stop.
Between all of the above guys, the in-state guys like Russ Yeast, Tyrell Ajian, and others, and the rest of the national contingent that wasn't in Baltimore, I think DB recruiting in 2017 is going to be a pretty wild ride.
More Notes
- We've talked a lot recently about the Buckeyes possibly adding a fourth offensive lineman in this class if it's an elite tackle (much like Isaiah Prince pushing things to six last cycle). Landon Young could definitely fit that bill. The Buckeyes have really turned up the heat there lately and DE commit Jonathon Cooper was definitely in his ear over the weekend.
Young has been committed to Kentucky for two years now and plays just in the shadow of the UK campus so there is definitely a strong loyalty there. That said, he is definitely listening to the OSU staff right now, though I've spoken to a few people close to that situation that feel the Buckeyes have some catching up to do.
There is still a lot of time left for OSU to try and make up ground here and I suspect you'll see his name popping up a lot over the next few months and wouldn't be surprised at all if OSU gets an official visit out of him.
- No reason for me to believe anything has changed with five-star DT Rashan Gary. Like Young, Gary was being worked by Cooper over the weekend and the two have built a good friendship but I continue to feel Ohio State is much closer to sixth or seventh in this race than they are to the top of the list. Clemson has some family close by, Michigan has the former high school coach and likely several of his New Jersey guys in the class, and Alabama seems to have him intrigued. He's also going to embark on a major SEC tour soon and that could bring some new contenders into the race as well.
There's no reason for OSU to stop recruiting Gary, however. There is no true short list at this point and Rashan is good enough that you take your swings and see what happens. But if the Buckeyes don't get Rashan and his mother on campus this summer, I don't see how they pull this one off. Just not sure you can just bring them out for the official visit and pull this off, they'll need a little more than that to win this one.
- The 'other' big DT target right now is of course Antwuan Jackson who will visit next week for an overnight stay. Auburn and Georgia are the major contenders right now and we've speculated in the past that UGA's loaded DT depth chart could ultimately push Jackson away.
Right now that seems to be good news for Auburn where he had a great visit recently. The Tigers have a more appealing depth chart than UGA and are just as close to home as UGA so they have a lot working for them.
Still, Larry Johnson has done a great job there the last few months in building relationships and for OSU to be in the top 3-4 schools without a visit to this point is a good sign. Next week's visit will be enormous, it's as big as it gets for an unofficial visit. It will dictate whether they get another unofficial visit this summer and whether they get an official in the fall. I think we'll be able to be much more accurate in our assessment of that recruitment after this visit and will have a much better idea if this one is a major long shot or a legitimate possibility.
